Sport Cornwall Website Launch !

Check out my new website !!

www.sportcornwall.com

Cheers
Craig

183.4 Miles, 1 day 7 hours, 20 minutes and 4 seconds............

............and all I get is this lousy T-Shirt !


What a day, what a place ! Exmoor proved to be everything we were led to believe, if not more so. This was the steepest and most savage of the 7 races so far. A real monster of a course involving huge climbs from sea level to 1000 feet above the sea with dizzying views and spectacular coastal sections which were mountainous in scale.

I loved this race, I started at the back and worked my way through the field meeting some of the now familiar faces from the series. People from all walks of life, some with bigger things on the Horizon yet to come, such as the Marathon des Sables a monster 7 day trek across the Sahara desert. I couldn't help but think that today would be more than adequate training for such an event, as it was getting pretty hot....

somewhere on a hill far away...

After about 15 miles or so, I found myself in a pace which was very similar to a familiar face from the series. I thought he was called James, and he thought I was Chris, so we formed a euphemistic partnership of James and Chris and we helped each other around this Final Seventh Marathon. Having someone to talk to and run with proved a great thing and we made Stirling progress back along the coastal path and we overtook lots of people. One guy was adamant that at Lynmouth it was the24 Mile point. He must have been disappointed as it can't have been much more than 20 !

There were lots of people in Lynmouth who of course had no idea who these strange people were running through their town. We got quite a few puzzled looks. Some asked if it was a race, and then how far? Mouths dropped when we shouted back it was a marathon ! Little did they know either that for some of us, we'd been doing this every month since November. The sight of people sitting in the sun drinking cool lager only served to torture the soul even more.

Relentlessly, the James and Chris duo pushed on through some magnificent sections until James (aka Tim in reality) started to cramp. Come on Lad! I'd been there in Pembroke, and I told him to drink and stop to rest for a while. Fortunately it subsided and we took on board some more energy gels and water.

We started to recognise features we had passed on the outbound journey and it spurred us on, knowing the finish couldn't be far away. We were covering miles quicker now, although we were well through the dreaded 20 Mile point, and 'The Wall' could strike at any moment. We were truly living on borrowed time, so we made progress while we could.

The final two miles were psychologically the worst. This contained some severe coastal climbing sections and just as you rounded a corner, another gargantuan beast reared its head. No match for James and Chris though, and we slaughtered them all, overtaking many a dead warrior lain to waste on the verges of the Coastal Trail.

Then downhill, downhill all the way to the finish line, at the Hunters Inn, a fitting finish for a wonderful series, the crowds were cheering and my wife Katherine and Brother-in-Law Stefan had completed the 10k version of the race in good times too.

I celebrated with my now trademark cup of tea (2 sugars) followed by pint of cool Guiness.

James (Tim) was really pleased with this result of 4h53 which knocked spots off his Cornwall time. I was pleased to Finish the series in one piece, and having made a new comrade in arms.

So there it is, I survived the series, I got the T-Shirt, and I can truly say that I've been there and done that. And it's been a hell of an experience, who knows what I can do next?

But most of all, raising the Grand Total of £1682.57 has been the most humbling thing.

Thanks to all you who have donated, without your support, this would never have happened.

Thanks All,
Craig

PS So what next I hear you ask? Watch this space for Episode Two. "I feel the need, the need for speed", my quest to run faster than ever before, in a Top-Gun style mickey take of Road Running to see if I can break the sound barrier in a road race: 10 mph.

The Home Straight?....the Final Marathon Looms...

Well folks, that's six down, and just the question of one more yet to complete.

The vertical profile of the Exmoor marathon beggars belief. About 12,000 feet of total ascent in total well over the normal 26 mile distance. I can only hope here to complete, smiling, and receive the 7x7x7 T-shirt to complete the challenge.

I have given my All to the six marathons, I have paced myself, raced myself, pushed myself beyond limits I didn't know I had. I have trained harder than I have ever trained in my life.
Above all - I have come to realise that, through running, I can find a true sense of satisfaction and contentment.

It has changed my life. From now on, I will always be a runner.

Without doubt, the hardest thing has been picking myself up after a Marathon and somehow, trying to physically and mentally prepare myself to do it all again in 3 or 4 weeks time.

This has been the most amazing thing, to keep bouncing back, month after month, I'm not sure whether it has been physical or mental - whichever - the fantastic support I have had through sponsorship has been the driving force. Without that, I would not be here now, talking about the last race. Thanks to all who have donated, and I can assure you the Air Ambulance has done some amazing missions over the last few weeks, and you can take pride that you helped that happen. Peoples lives have been saved due to the speed of care provided.

So here's looking forward to Number 7. I shall be having a nice jog round - my racing legs have long since been shot to bits and this will be all about completion of the Challenge. My body has been put through hell over the last six months and is well overdue a rest, so don't expect great things here folks...

....this may be the last marathon but I'm running it on my last legs!!

Stage 6 >> Animal, mineral, physical, spiritual !

More pain please, I love it, really I do...

First the blurb:
".....[cornwall] the course was considered by many to be the most challenging course in last year's series. This is a truly savage beast that only the toughest of trail runners will tame, but those that do will bask forever in the glory of the accomplishment."

Okay. Nice words. I like the 'truly savage beast' bit especially. I must admit, the description alone is enough to strike fear into the heart of any would-be runner of this course. And I for one (having seen this section from the air) was ready to fear the worst. After two marathons in the legs in the last 6 weeks also, I was starting to wonder what might happen to me in the miles ahead, whether I could withstand another physical challenge of what sounds like epic proportions. It must have also scared off a lot of folk, as there were only 69 subscribers to the fun packed miles ahead.

It's been three weeks since Pembrokeshire, where I got my best time and placing, but at the expense of a 22 mile near disaster. Only 21 days has elapsed since then, little time for my legs to heal and my spirit to relight. Although I had posted a good place, I would rather have finished stronger. I promised Katherine I would not get carried away with this race and I would jog around it with no aspirations of time or place. I promised.

It was a glorious day, and this was somewhere that felt familiar to me, having holidayed down here it gave me a sense of comfort. The race started in the familiar way with the cyborgs going off at a gallop and I let them go and get on with it. I hooked up with some lovely people and had a jolly nice chat for at least the first hour. Had two wees. And rearranged various items in my back pack. I drank in the scenery, the huge cliffs, the turquoise sea and it felt great to be alive. Everything in my life seemed perfect and in a kind of druggy runners haze I became high on a coastal ecstasy dose.

I had restrained myself, armed with my new Ipod Suffle (spelt wrong on eBay so I got it cheap) I had enjoyed the first 14 miles. I didn't feel too bad. I knew I was only just over half way but I had been running for nearly 3 hours ! This is a time which rings alarm bells, as it's the point at which the horrible feelings of the wall sometimes become apparent. Physically I felt okay, mentally I was finding it hard to comprehend the amount of running time still lying ahead. Somehow, I drifted into a zone where I could almost feel nothing. I was now catching people up and that gave me an added drive. I felt like I was on the home straight although I had a lot of miles yet to cover. My Ipod Suffle was giving me something to focus on too.......

In particular I became addicted to Joan Armatrading. Don't ask why. After the 20 Mile Checkpoint I decided to play her on an endless repeat cycle....

Drop the Pilot, Try my balloon...

The point beyond 20 miles is a strange place, full of unknowns. It's a place I've been five times so far, and each time has filled me with trepidation. I just ran and ran, faster and faster. It's like running in Cinderella's crystal slippers, eventually they will disappear in a puff of smoke and I'll be left in a heap on the trail again.

...Drop the monkey, smell my perfume...

I began to recognise things in the distance which I knew where near the finish. Mentally, that was a huge boost.

...Drop the mahout, I'm the easy rider...

I overtook more runners, I was on fire by now, blasting along the spongy singletrack trails

...Don't use your army, to fight a losing battle..

This is part of any marathon which is so difficult for people to describe. The anticipation of the finish. The wonderful feeling of accomplishment begins to well up inside and all the expericences getting to that moment come flooding back in a torrent. It's like the ultimate runners high comes on in a headrush as you run up the finishing chute ...

Animal, mineral, physical, spiritual
I'm the one you need
I'm the one you need

...then you realise....what is this crap song I've been listening to !! I played that song over 12 times over the last 6 miles. I think if if it were to come on the radio I would more than likely stop the car, get out, and start running.

Please help me.

I am now an addicted, endorphin fuelled, mad as a hat, trail marathon runner. It is hard to describe the feelings and sensations that these experiences have given me, but I know one thing....

I'm getting some new Ipod Tunes.

I finished 10th / 69 , in 4hr39, thanks to a fast second half of the race.

Results Here.

Crushing Cornwall and Excruciating Exmoor - Race Preview

Exmoor - the Devil's Work

It's only a week now until the grand two-part finale of this extraordinary series of races. Cornwall and Exmoor are in a league of their own, being longer and much, much tougher than any of the previous Five.

This is where the going gets really tough, and the tough get Girly. The experiences of the first Five will pale into insignificance in comparison with the dizzying rocky coastlines of these two monsters. It's time to Get Real. After the battering I have taken completing the series so far, these final two could prove to be a push too far. I'm feeling in good shape, and have managed a fair amount of training since the last marathon (almost 100 miles) but somehow, I think that just getting through these last two alive and completing the challenge is the very best I can hope for. The record times for these races is over 4hours 40minutes, so I can expect to be running/walking/crawling for well over Five Hours on each event. It's going to be rugged, steep and more than likely, raining.

If I don't die of exhaustion, then I will probably fall arse over tit. That, my friends, would be an unfitting climax to what's been a mixed bag of success so far.

So I'll be in pure Survival mode. I have to get to the end alive, and complete the challenge, rather like a lone sperm who has long since lost his fellow gametes, and is heading on the final lonely challenge of the near vertical fallopian tubes.

Will I wriggle my way to the end of this dark nightmare that I have created? Or will I die, abandoned on the coastal trail wrapped in a space blanket like an unwashed Tramp who never made it from Rehab?

Let's hope I hope I can conquer, and I find the holy egg which is the 7x7x7 challenge T-Shirt.

Amen.

If it ain't Pembroke, Don't fix it.

Ha ha me hearties, yet again I stand about to run into almost certain pain, on the start line of another Marathon. Oh yes, they're coming along thick and fast now, the latest being Stage 5 >> Pembrokeshire, a lovely twee place called Little Haven nestled in the cliffs of the National Park.

Here the coastline is undulating and gives way to some spectacular views of St Brides Bay, including Skokholm and Ramsey Island where I can sometimes be seen flying my little helicopter, as there are quite a few lighthouses around. The weather again was stunning, and set the scene for another showdown, of cripples versus coastline.

Looking at the previous years results, this one was the fastest course. As your best 4 places count towards a series prize, I was determined to make this one count. My knee was feeling pretty good, I had done the Carbo thing, rested beforehand, and got in a bit of training since the last Marathon. The Cornwall and Exmoor races will be pointless trying to race as they are so incredibly hilly, and no doubt this will attract some Terminator like cyborgs who enjoy that sort of thing. If I am going to get a good placing, then surely today is the day to do it. And if I'm going to do it, then I'm going to have to go for it with the big boys off the mark. Whatever happens later, is in the hands of the Gods.

I felt pretty good to start with, unlike some races (Portland where I felt dis-interested), and so I rode the wave, feeling quite excited as I could see the race leader and soon established myself among the front runners. We steamed along, and my local knowledge from having run this section before paid off, as I knew roughly what to expect. This knowledge however only lasted for about the first half of the course.

I was loving it, blasting along in the fantastic weather and taking in the amazing scenery, and checked through the first few checkpoints in some pretty good times. Arriving at the 18.5 Mile checkpoint, I took a breather to walk a fairly stiff hill, and couldn't see anybody behind me at all for at least a mile ! Then the route became quite tedious, with one section across a disused airfield which seemed massive and made it seem as if I was hardly moving. I could also feel some signs of tiredness creeping in and sucked onboard more water from my pack to keep hydrated. I had noticeably slowed, no wonder really, after the ridiculous pace of the first two and a half hours.

It was at 22.5 miles that the wind was taken from my sails. I was run-walking by now 10 paces of each in an attempt to keep going and things were taking a turn for the worse. Suddenly, a massive cramp engulfed my right hamstring mid-stride and I fell onto the floor.

This is it. The end. No more challenge. I am literally Hamstrung. Left for dead on the roadside. Maybe now is the time to Don my Space-Blanket and sit on the verge of life - watching my dreams vanish amongst the Cow Pats forever.

No. Not in Wales. I gathered my leg, sucked in more liquid, and ran like a Boy with Wet Trousers until - Miraculously, It subsided enough for me to carry on. I was hemorrhaging time, but there was a chance I could still do this. I knew that I was in the top ten finishers, and the time was still under Four Hours.

At last I caught sight of the Village, and knowing The End was near I almost broke into a sprint to get it over with.

I collapsed over the line, utterly exhausted and legs completely shot to bits. It was hard, and my own daft fault for trying to run beyond my capabilities. But what the Hell, this is for Charity isn't it? Please phone my helpine if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase.

I recorded 7th/102. 3hrs 56 mins over a 26.8 Mile course.

Results Here

To knee or not to knee.....

Guess what?

I've not run for 4 whole days.

My legs were complaining so I decided to rest a bit. I had actually entered a 20 Mile Road Race on Sunday (I was going to jog it - honest !), and I didn't do that either.

So I had a jolly good rest instead. Made me irritable though - a real Mardy moo.

I went for a test-run tonight, to check out the biological progress. It was good. My legs were moving quite quickly, much better than the end of last week when they were sluggish and painful.

I ran a two mile test. Out in 6min20 and back in 5min40. Va va voom, there's some speed there - so that's a good thing.

I'll carry on resting till the end of the week !